Page 94 of Widow Mayker

Noa laid out an enlarged photograph of the exterior of Black Dream. On it were several markings showing where bullets struck the building. There were at least a couple of dozen shots.

“That explains why he only aimed for Von,” Noa added. “The rest of the shots were random.”

That revelation only added fuel to the fire already burning inside me.

“He’s linked back up with his old crew as well as some niggas who ran with Jemell,” Humble stated. “So far, I’ve counted twenty-two bodies, including Jerell.”

Peace pointed to the poster, displaying the floor plans of the mansion Jerell owned. Adir had him and Humble sitting on Jerell for most of the day.

Peace chuckled. “As if that matters.”

Noa agreed, smirking.

Adir walked into the conference room, scanned everyone’s faces, and said, “It’s time.”

“You ready?” Poppa asked me.

“Yes.”

“I love you, aight? Keep yo’ head on a swivel, and trust that we got you.”

“Okay.” I hugged Poppa, then followed him, Adir, Humble, Peace, and Alli out of the office. Noa followed behind me.

The living room was teeming with Bells, all of them knowing what was to come. This was my family. The family who took me in, raised me, and loved me more than I could explain. My mother would’ve loved them. She would’ve loved the way they loved their children and wives. She would’ve loved the way they protected anyone connected to them. She would’ve loved the community of men who never sat back and watched a woman be abused or hurt in any way. My mother deserved better. She deserved better than the piece of shit my father was.

Already consumed with anger, I had to shake off thoughts of Richard Storm. Instead, I thought about Von and everything he meant to me. To think, he’d been searching for me, the killer. To think that I never cared enough about the life I lived to pay attention to something as simple as the investigators chasing after me. If I had known Von then, I would’ve sworn he was my kryptonite. Because of him, I gave an officer a chance.

As I stepped outside, the breeze of the night played along my face, noting that a tear had dropped from my eye. All I wanted was to be next to Von and have him put his big arm around my neck like he always did. I missed his body’s weight against mine and the way he stared into my eyes—the eyes he put light back into. I couldn’t possibly live without him.

“Focus, baby girl,” Adir murmured. He opened the door of the van to let me in. I climbed inside, took a seat, and zoned out. I had to leave Maja at Bell Estates. Donning a simple black baseball cap, I pulled it low over my eyes. May was on her way to wreak havoc.

***

“I want you to hit every target. Don’t think about it. Spot ‘em. Pull the trigger,” Poppa instructed.

“Yes, sir.”

Through the scope of the AR-15 resting against the front of my shoulder, I spotted Jerell, pacing on his balcony. At seventeen, I could shoot from distances that rivaled the best military member. Due to my shoulder injuries, it was hard learning how to handle the recoil. Adir wouldn’t let up, though, until I could handle the rifle just as well as he could. It would have been so easy to pull the trigger and end Jerell’s life, but that would have been too easy, too lenient.

So, I waited patiently for Adir’s signal. He and the rest of my family were already on Jerell’s property, preparing to light that bitch up. Sure enough, the faint sounds of bullets firing crackled through my earpiece. I kept my sights on Jerell, who wasn’t aware of the death going on around him.

“Perimeter clear,” Noa relayed.

Moments later, those familiar sounds echoed through my earpiece again. I listened as one by one, my father and cousins picked off every breathing thing inside the mansion. Jerell must’ve suspected something. He paused pacing and glanced around the grounds of the backyard.

“Maja, you’re clear.”

Adir’s prompt lit every cell in my body. Shouldering the AR-15, I stood from the tall, manicured bushes lining the inside of Jerell’s property. His ass had no clue that I was steps from his patio. I entered through the patio door, ignored the carnage my people caused, and bounded the stairs to the second floor. Humble waited at Jerell’s bedroom door, his assault rifle ready just in case. Handing him mine, I entered Jerell’s bedroom.

The blankets on his bed were shuffled, and the television was loud as hell. The closer I got to the balcony’s French-style doors, the faster my heart raced. Not because I was afraid—on the contrary, I was excited.

Stepping onto the balcony, I stood behind a pacing Jerell and tilted my head to the side. He was taller, stockier, and more handsome than his brother. Looking at him, I saw the streets all over him. His locs were long, down to his waist. Tattoos covered ninety-five percent of his bare chest and back. His beard was long and unkempt. He was a far cry from the man who appeared on countless news broadcasts demanding that Von be fired, investigated, and all but murdered in the streets.

“Hi. I’m May.”

Jerell whirled around, and his wide eyes raked over me. His astonishment at seeing me heightened my senses into overdrive. Still, I remained patient. I wanted to feel every ounce of energy draining from his body.

“Bitch! How the fuck you get up here?”